kidnapping and the manacle key
by phantomworks
Summary: How could Hunter get mistaken for an invectid? how did he loose his memory? what will he do now? HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Phantomworks: okay, this is kind of stupid, but I made this up when I thought that they ended the series on tv when they didn't and now I feel very stupid. I still think that my story is a lot better than what really came out, so I'm posting. Also, I started to send my friend these parts and just ended them wherever I felt like, so if it ends in the middle of a sentence, then I'm sorry. Just enjoy this as is.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, this is the disclaimer for all the chapters. I forgot to put them on the chaps, so I hope that this covers them until I write the newest chapter. Also, I didn't know what the manacle key looked like at the time I made this, so I count it equal to the weird orange ball on top of the Oracle's head. Just if your wondering.


	3. Chapter 3

Bugees and Acunea had opened the door to the manacle key shrine, and Hunter Steel and the other spider riders had just defeated Grass hop and his minions. Grass hop had accidentally told Hunter, Igneous, Corona, and their spiders where Bugees and Acunea were going. They were going to the oracle's shrine.

"Where are they going?" Hunter asked confused, he had never heard of the oracle's shrine. He looked over at Corona who had a downcast face.

"The oracle's shrine is the place where one of the manacle keys is hidden. We have to stop them before it's too late!" Corona exclaimed. She got onto Venus, her spider, and motioned for Hunter and Igneous to do the same. As soon as they were on their spiders, the three spider riders raced off toward the shrine.

When they got to the shrine, the doors were already open. "This is bad, guys. They're already inside." Igneous said gravely.

"We must not let the manacle keys fall into the invectids hands. Let's go, aracna power!" With Hunter in the lead, they went inside. Inside they found Bugees and Acunea, along with the manacle key on a pedestal in the middle of the room. The manacle key was an orange glowing orb, with white swirls going through it. Bugees and Acunea turned as the Spider riders burst in.

"Oh it's the spider riders." Bugees taunted. "What are you going to do? Take the manacle key back, I suppose? Well to bad, you'll have to go through me, spider riders!" Bugees pulled out his sword and took his fighting stance. Acunea quietly raised her battle staff with a sword-like knife on each end. She showed no expression through her dark mask.

"Corona, Igneous, hold them off while I get the manacle key!" Hunter yelled over his shoulder.

"Right!" Corona and Igneous said at the same time. Then Corona headed for Acunea and Igneous headed for Bugees. Hunter followed up right behind them, but Bugees had avoided Igneous, and lunged into Hunter's way. Shadow, Hunter's spider, stopped just before he ran into Bugees. Bugees swung his sword at Hunter, but Hunter leapt back before the sword made contact. Then Bugees grabbed the manacle key, and called for Acunea.

"Nice try spider riders, but you have failed once again. Good bye, spider riders!" Bugees yelled victoriously.

Before Bugees could make it to the doors, Hunter leapt at him; lance extended, and caught Bugees off guard. Bugees let go of the manacle key and Hunter picked it up. As Hunter held it, an orange tentacle-like wave of energy grabbed his arms and didn't let go. The manacle key then started glowing brighter and brighter.

Hunter couldn't let go of it. Corona and Igneous weren't able to get close enough to see what was happening because of the blinding light. Acunea stood beside Bugees, not worried at all because of the dark power of her mask. Bugees had recovered enough to push Hunter away from the manacle key, grab it, and run away with Acunea at his side.

"Hunter are you all right?" Corona said worriedly as she helped him off of the ground.

"Yeah, I think so. But Bugees took the manacle key." Hunter said as he dusted himself off.

"That is right." Igneous said in a disapproving tone. "How could you let him walk out of here with the manacle key, Hunter?!"

"I didn't see you trying to keep him away or go after him!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Guys, it's no use fighting over it now! Let's go back and report what has happened to the prince." Corona said discouraged.

"Okay, let's go back." Hunter said quietly. As they rode back to Aracna Kingdom, Corona kept feeling like she was forgetting something, something that had to do with the manacle key's strange power.

When they got to the castle, Corona went to make the report to prince Lumen, Igneous went to train, and Hunter went to his room. As Corona finished giving the report to prince Lumen, she heard Igneous's voice coming from her manacle. It said, "Calling all spider riders, an invectid has infiltrated the castle disguised as a human. Find him as fast as you can."

"Right!" Corona and prince Lumen said simultaneously. "You go team up with Hunter, Corona. I'll go on ahead."

"Okay" Corona said, dashing off toward Hunter's room. "Hunter, did you hear?" Corona said excitedly, swinging the door to Hunter's room open wide. "There's an invectid…!" Corona stopped dead in her tracks.

Hunter was standing with his white shirt in his hands, his shorts on, and his vest over one of the chairs. He stood in front of a mirror. But what Corona saw was black marks that went across Hunter's back, two going down his arms, four wrapped around his middle, and two short ones that went up the back of his neck and onto his cheeks, making two triangles, one on each cheek, that weren't hidden by shadows. Hunter turned toward Corona very slowly, looking very scared.

Igneous burst in saying "I thought I told you to look for the invectid that got into the…" Igneous stopped. Wasn't Corona listening to him? She was staring at Hunter. Igneous looked over at Hunter and saw the black marks that covered Hunter's body.

Suddenly, Hunter's manacle started glowing like it did when he turned into the true spider rider. It glowed like that because he was turning into the true spider rider! Usually, this power was only activated when a spider rider said "Aracna power!" But Hunter had not said "Aracna power!"

Igneous was wondering why Hunter would turn into the true spider rider, when there was no Invectid around. Then Igneous knew why, this wasn't Hunter! It was some evil clone the Invectids put here to get rid of any spider rider when he or she was off guard.

That was, however, not the case. This Hunter was the real Hunter, and he didn't know why he was turning into a true spider rider. He was shocked when his manacle gave him the battle gear of a true spider rider. With his lance in hand, Hunter stood terrified. First, the weird marks show up and now this!

Igneous yelled "Aracna power!" and he too, become a true spider rider, with his battle gear and his sword.


	4. Chapter 4

Hunter backed up a little bit, not wanting to fight, but for Igneous, it was the start of the battle. Igneous leapt up and drew back his sword. "Prepare yourself, Invectid!" Igneous shouted as he came down on Hunter.

Hunter jumped out of the way right before Igneous hit him, but the shock way of the attack sent Hunter flying backward and he landed against the wall and fell down onto his back. Igneous got up and put his sword to Hunter's neck, as Hunter was getting up. "I think we could get some information out of you before you get your punishment. Corona, tell prince Lumen that we have caught the invectid."

"Right!" Corona said half-heartedly.

_Where is Hunter?_ Corona thought. _Where could he be?_ As she left the room. Just outside the room, she reported over the manacle. "Calling all Spider riders, we have apprehended the invectid."

"Marvelous work, Corona!" prince Lumen's voice came from the manacle. "I'll be right there to help you." Corona heard fast footsteps coming soon. "Well where is he?" prince Lumen asked.

"He's taken the shape of Hunter. The only way to tell them apart, is the black marks on the double." Corona said sadly. "Problem is, we don't know where the real Hunter is. He could be in the invectid castle for all we know."

Prince Lumen had a shocked face when he said "An invectid copying other shapes, this is news to me, we might want to get information from him. Put him in the dungeon for now and interrogate him for any information about where Hunter is."

"Yes, sir." Corona said with little hope.

After Corona had left Hunter's room, Hunter continued to sit against the wall with Igneous's sword barely touching his neck. "I want to know how you got that manacle, invectid. Last time I checked, invectids couldn't use a manacle. That manacle must be a fake." Igneous said.

Hunter didn't reply, he knew that Igneous thought he was a traitor. Igneous wouldn't listen to him. Suddenly, Igneous grabbed Hunter's left arm, the one with the manacle.

"I think that prince Lumen will want to see this fake manacle." Igneous's hand went to Hunter's manacle, with his sword still at Hunter's throat.

Hunter's eyes grew big, no one knew what would happen if you took off your manacle while you were still a true spider rider. Igneous tore the manacle off, though not damaging it. Hunter felt a throbbing pain that coursed through his whole body as his armor vanished into particles of light and the manacle absorbed the light. The pain was so great that Hunter passed out.

Corona gasped as she came in to see Hunter lying limp against the wall. "You didn't kill him, did you?!" Corona said to Igneous, running toward Hunter.

"No, but why should we care?" Igneous asked, changing back into a regular human.

"He may be the only one who knows where the real Hunter is!" Corona exclaimed. "Prince Lumen wanted us to put him in the dungeon for right now. He wants to interrogate him for information. Help me get him down to the dungeon."

"Fine," Igneous said, lifting Hunter's limp body and putting it on his spider's back to carry Hunter to the dungeon.

Hunter woke up suddenly, his eyes flipped open quickly. He looked around, wondering where he was. Around him were dark gray stone walls, a bed, a sink, and bars instead of a wall on one side. Then he realized, he was in the castle's dungeon!

He looked down at his arms and he was even more terrified. The black marks had not gone away! It had advanced down the back of his hand and stretched to each of his fingers. _What is happening to me?!_ Hunter thought, desperately. He didn't hear Igneous and Prince Lumen come to his cell. He barely looked up as Prince Lumen started talking to him.

"Can you please tell us where our friend is?" Lumen said calmly. When Hunter didn't look up, he went on. "If you tell us where he is, your punishment will be lowered. We might even let you go." Hunter still didn't look up.

"Listen to the prince, invectid! This could be your only chance to save your worthless life! Most invectids would jump for a chance like this!" Igneous said threateningly. " If it were up to me, you would be sentenced to death."

Hunter flinched, _Would Igneous really do that?_ Hunter thought. He closed his eyes tightly, still not daring to look up. He knew that prince Lumen wouldn't put his life in or an invectids life into Igneous's hands.

"I'll let you take care of him, Igneous," Prince Lumen said, who obviously didn't hear Igneous's threat. "You can decide his punishment."

Hunter's head jerked up as Lumen walked down the corridor and left the dungeon, muttering something about too much work and taking a nap. Hunter looked up at Igneous, his eyes pleadingly.

"You know exactly what I'm going to do." Said Igneous, coldly, "You are sentenced to death in two days. Nothing will save you now." With that, Igneous turned and left the dungeon, on the way out he saw


	5. Chapter 5

Corona going to Hunter's cell.

"He will be dealt with in two days, see what kind of information you can get out of him." Corona nodded and continued walking to Hunter's cell.

"I want to know where Hunter is." Corona said to Hunter as she knelt down in front of Hunter's cell. "I might be able to stop Igneous from …you know." Corona was unable to mention Hunter's sentence. Hunter had been staring at the floor as Corona had walked up and tried to get him to talk. He looked up. Corona saw the sadness and betrayal in his eyes. She started feeling like this wasn't an invectid, but she knew Hunter didn't have black marks like this fake did.

"Corona, I…" Hunter started.

Corona flinched, _how does he know my name? Did he overhear Igneous talking to me? _Corona realized that Igneous had told her to call Prince Lumen, right in front of this fake. That's probably how he knew her name.

Hunter, on the other hand, took it as a warning and decided not to say anything else. He could just hope that someone would stop his sentence from happening.

Two days had passed and Hunter had refused to talk to anyone. Igneous came down to the dungeon to get Hunter for his sentence. Igneous took Hunter to the roof of the castle and an easy spot to clean up any liquid spilled.

Corona had only gotten a few things out of Hunter, but from what she had, she could tell that the fake wasn't responsible for Hunter's disappearance. That meant he didn't need to die. She had to stop the punishment from happening, and she only had a few minutes!

_I hope I can make it to the roof in time!_ Corona thought as she ran from the dungeon to the stairs. She had been too late to keep Igneous from getting to Hunter first.

As Corona ran up the stairs to the roof, Igneous prepared for Hunter's sentence. He drew his sword and held it down at his side. The guards that were standing by held Hunter back from running off. When Igneous walked to his place, the guards forced Hunter to his knees and held his hands behind his back.

"Please let me talk to Corona!" Hunter said with dread in his eyes.

"So that you can finish her off, never!" Igneous said disgusted. Then, Corona burst through the doorway, panting heavily.

"Igneous, stop, call off this whole thing!" Corona said trying to catch her breath. "Whoever kidnapped Hunter isn't working with this person! That means he's innocent."

"Impossible, he was there at the scene! He has to be the culprit!" Igneous said angrily.

"Please, just let him--…" Corona stopped in mid sentence as Hunter got up from the ground. His hands were tied behind his back and he stopped her from saying any more.

"My life was put in Igneous's hands, I'll take the punishment even if I die. But, I will never give up." Hunter said quietly, tears welling up from his eyes. Then as he turned back to face his punishment, Igneous aimed a hit on Hunter's neck with the hilt of his sword. The aim was precise and Hunter fell on his face on the cold stone roof.

"NO! How could you Igneous!?" Corona cried as she ran to Hunter's limp body.

"I didn't kill him, Corona." Igneous said with a slightly confused look about what he had just done. "I knocked him out. This person was prepared to give his life to prove the truth; an invectid wouldn't do that. If this person were a spider rider instead of a criminal, he would be a great warrior, but because he is a criminal, he can't be trusted. I'll let him live because of his fighting spirit. Next time, he won't be so lucky." Igneous turned and left the roof, leaving the guards to carry the limp body down.

When Hunter woke up two days later, he found himself in the dungeon again. _Why am I still alive? Did Igneous change his mind? Or was it all a dream?_ Hunter questioned. He looked down and saw that his hands were still tied together, but in front of his body now._ Nope, it wasn't a dream, but what changed Igneous's mind?_ Then Hunter heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

He sat up a little and waited for whoever was coming to see if they would let him out. Corona came to the bars of his cell.

"I'm sorry, Igneous won't give anyone permission to let you go. I wish I could help you."

"Calling all spider riders!" Prince Lumen's voice came from the manacle. "Bugees and an army of invectids have come to invade the castle! Everybody prepare to defend the kingdom!"

"Oh no!" Corona gasped, "I've got to go!" she told Hunter. Then she raced off to help the other spider riders.

Outside Corona met up with Prince Lumen. "I'm here!" Corona said, "Where are the invectids?"

"They're advancing fast on the kingdom." Prince Lumen said. "We'd better turn into a true spider rider before they get here."

"Right." Corona said.

"Aracna-power!" They both shouted. Then their manacles glowed and they were clothed in battle gear and had their weapons ready. As the invectid lines advanced, Corona


	6. Chapter 6

saw that Bugees wasn't there at command.

_Where could he be?_ Corona thought as she fired arrows at the invectids. _The cell in the dungeon! The invectids must want the person who looks like Hunter! I have to get there fast!_

In the dungeon, Hunter was sitting against the wall listening to the faint fighting noises that were above him.

_I wish I could do something to help instead of sitting here in the dungeon._ Hunter thought. Then there was a rumbling above his head; he leapt to the right wall, as the ceiling came crashing down on his bed. Out of the rubble and dust, Bugees and Acunea stepped onto the floor of the dungeon. Bugees spotted Hunter a few feet away from the opposite wall.

"Ah, Hunter Steel, fancy meeting you here. Shouldn't you be out fighting against my invectid army?" Bugees laugh evilly. Then he noticed that Hunter's hands were bound and that he didn't have a manacle. "So your spider rider friends betrayed you, did they? Well, since you're unarmed, I'll finish you off right here and now." Bugees drew his sword and stepped toward Hunter.

Hunter kept backing up to the wall until he could go no further. He was trapped. No manacle, no weapons, not even able to use his hands. All he could do was wait until Bugees ended this.

Bugees was about to swing his sword to finish Hunter when Acunea stopped him. "What is it?" He said angrily.

Acunea didn't answer; she just stepped forward and directed her hands at Hunter. Her body started glowing blue as she used her power. Hunter started glowing blue too, only he started to float into the air. He also felt a sharp pain as he flew to the ceiling. Then suddenly, the blue changed to red and Hunter glared directly at Acunea. She started glowing red too and fell to her knees. Hunter dropped out of the air and landed a few feet away from Acunea.

"He must be what we were looking for. Ironic that we would find it with spider riders." Bugees said. He picked up Hunter's limp body and slung him over his shoulder. Corona came running around the corner. She was too late. Bugees got onto his bug car and was taking off with Hunter onboard.

"We got what we came for Spider riders, so we'll leave this for another time." Bugees shouted over his shoulder as he flew off in the direction of the invectid palace.

"He got away." Corona said disappointed.

"Corona!" Prince Lumen called from the manacle. "The invectids have retreated. Whatever you did, it did the trick!"

"Prince Lumen…the prisoner is gone."

"What!? How could he leave?!"

"Bugees took him to the invectid palace. The prisoner was unconscious, so I think Bugees took him by force." Corona said.

"Well there's nothing we can do now, but we might want to come up with a plan to get the prisoner back." Prince Lumen said already lost in thought.

"Okay." Corona said down hearted.

At the invectid palace, Hunter was still unconscious. His hands were tried to the wall above his head. Acunea was using her magic to make the black marks on Hunter's skin disappear, though it was more like disguising it to look like regular skin. Bugees came in and leaned against the wall a little ways away.

"To think that our enemy, a spider rider, let alone Hunter Steel, would hold the key. Acunea, erase his memory so that he won't be any trouble to us, trying to escape or fight us." Acunea didn't respond, she just continued her work on the black marks.

When Hunter woke up, he didn't know where he was. He had never seen this place before. It was a dark room, barely any light, and from what he could see, there was only one bed in here. He looked around to find a door that was slightly cracked open. Then heard footsteps coming this way. Then Bugees came in through the door.

Hunter sat on the bed trying to remember who the person in front of him was. "I see you're awake, Hunter Steel."

"Hunter Steel? Is that who I am?" Hunter said.

"Yes, you've been here for some time. We found you in the inner world a few years ago, you've been living here ever since."

"Really? I can't remember anything that happened before I woke up." Hunter said.

"You have a meeting with the great mantid today. So let's go." Bugees said, ignoring hunter's statement. Hunter got off the bed and followed Bugees down several confusing corridors. Finally, they came to a door. "He's in there. He only asked for you so I can't go in." Bugees said. Hunter nodded and went through the door.

"Ah, Hunter Steel. I've been waiting for you. There are bad people that are going to try to come here and destroy our palace, so we need you to learn how to control your magic. Acunea!" Mantid shouted.

Acunea stepped out of the shadows. "Yes Mantid."

"I want you to teach Hunter how to control his magic." Mantid ordered

"Yes Mantid."

"Hunter, I want you to come to every meeting I have, no matter where it is, but you are to be so quiet that no one will know you are there."

"Okay" Hunter said.

"You may go, both of you. Hunter your training will start right now." Hunter and Acunea both nodded and Hunter followed Acunea to her training grounds.

"We will begin now." Acunea said emotionlessly.

Several days had past, Hunter still lived in the invectid palace. He was following a meeting that had started walking down a corridor that he had never been down before.

Suddenly, he felt a pain in his head. He stopped, Mantid and the invectid he was talking to, stopped as well.

"Hunter, come here now!" Mantid commanded. Hunter took another step and the pain grew worse. He continued a few steps but the pain got so bad that he fell to the floor holding his head to try to stop the pain.

"Hunter get up right now, you're making a fool of yourself!" Hunter suddenly fell over, his eyes closed tight as if he was having a nightmare.

"Sir, what are you going to do with him?" the invectid asked looking down at Hunter.

"I'll call someone to get him. Now let us get on with this talk. Acunea!" Mantid said when Acunea appeared from another corridor beside them. "Take Hunter Steel to his room. I must attend to other matters." With that, Mantid and the other invectid went off, continuing their talk. Acunea picked Hunter up and left for his room. She laid him on his bed and closed the door behind her.

"What are we going to do?" Corona asked.

"I don't quite know," Prince Lumen said, his face deathly serious. "Hunter is gone and the only trail that we had, the clone, was taken by Bugees. I'm not sure what we should do."

"I think we should go to the invectid castle and get Hunter back or find an invectid that knows where he is and steal the manacle key back at the same time." Igneous said with arms crossed. He stepped forward and said, "it may be an even greater risk than messing with the oracle herself, but we have to take that risk to find the manacle key and Hunter."

Corona nodded as Prince Lumen gave out the spider rider call. _We're coming Hunter_. Corona thought. _It won't be long now._


	7. Chapter 7

Hunter sprang up from the bed. "How did I get here? I remember following sir Mantid, but I don't remember coming back." There was a knock on the door. Hunter opened the door a little to see Bugees standing in what little light there was at the castle.

"Get out here now!" Bugees yelled. "Mantid wants to have a meeting with you. Don't keep him waiting!" He said as Hunter ran off in the direction of mantid's lair. Hunter took a deep breath before entering mantid's lair.

"Hunter is that you?" Mantid asked in a barely calm voice.

_The calm before the storm. _Hunter thought, not daring to look up at Mantid. "Yes, sir." Hunter said.

"How dare you embarrass me in front of other invectids! I should have you thrown in prison for the rest of your puny life!" Mantid snarled. Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst. "But, I have found it in my favor to keep you alive for now, seeing that you don't fail the next task that I have for you." mantid said with his voice calm again.

_Huh?_ Hunter opened his eyes.

"I have gathered from my spies that the spider riders are preparing to attack this castle today and steal the manacle key that we have." Mantid said. Hunter's eyes grew big.

"Then they're bad people?" He asked.

"Yes, they are very bad people. I want you to stay in this room. They may come in here looking for the manacle key." Mantid said.

"Why would they come in here?"

"Because the manacle key is in here." Mantid said.

"Huh?" Hunter said in disbelief.

"I had it moved in here to protect it more easily." Mantid said.

"Oh, so what am I suppose to do?"

"Just stay close by." Mantid said. Hunter hid behind mantid's throne. No sooner had he done so than Acunea rush in. "They are here?" Mantid asked. His question was answered with the doors to the room being blown open.

Smoke rose up, then cleared to show Corona and Igneous standing on their spiders, Flame and Venus. "There you are Mantid!" Igneous said triumphantly.

"Tell us where Hunter and the manacle key are right now!" Corona yelled.

"Now why would I tell you that?" Mantid asked.

"Because we have you out numbered." Prince Lumen said riding in of his spider.

"Not as much as you think," Mantid said. "You want Hunter? Well, Hunter come out!" Hunter stood up from behind Mantid's throne. He quickly took a stance in front of Mantid. "You see, Hunter Steel belongs to us now!" Mantid said with an evil laugh.

Hunter turned to Mantid and pointed to the spider riders. "Are they the bad people?" He asked.

"Yes, Hunter. These are the bad people. Take care of them." Mantid answered.

"Hunter!" Corona cried. "Hunter, we're your friends!" Hunter turned to face her with an angry expression on his face.

"You run in here and then say you're my friends! How stupid do you think I am?!" Hunter exclaimed. Hunter extended his hands, palms facing Igneous and Corona. Acunea did the same. Hunter started glowing red while Acunea glowed blue.

"Let's see how you stand up to this!" Hunter said, firing a burst of bright red light that mixed with Acunea's deep blue light. The purple light hit Corona and Igneous and lifted them in the air.

"AAAHHH!" Corona cried as the pressure of the light pressed in all around her. Prince Lumen jumped up and his spider, quick as lightning, raced around the battle. They headed straight for Acunea and met with her sword lance, but the sudden movement caught her off guard and she stopped her half of the attack. Hunter struggled to keep his attack up.

"Huh?" Corona said. "It does hurt anymore."

"Hunter what is the meaning of this?!" Mantid demanded.

"I can't keep up the attack with out Acunea." Hunter could barely get the words out.

Almost as soon as he said that, Prince Lumen broke up the battle between himself and Acunea, by sending her flying against the wall. Acunea broke a couple of pots and other items along the way. Out of one came an orange light and the manacle key.

Hunter felt the pang again, only much worst. He collapsed instantly. Corona and Igneous landed gracefully on the ground and Prince Lumen grabbed the manacle key.

"Let's retreat!" Igneous yelled, jumping onto Flame.

"Wait!" Corona yelled. She ran over to Hunter and picked him up.

"Leave him! He's an invectid." Igneous said disgusted.


	8. Chapter 8

"He may be, but he's our only way of finding out where Hunter is." Corona jumped onto Venus and set Hunter down.

"IVECTIDS! ATTACK!" mantid yelled. Thousands of invectids poured in from everywhere. But, they were too late. Corona, Igneous, and Prince Lumen and their spiders retreated out of the castle, Hunter and the manacle key with them.

Hunter woke up in a dungeon cell in the basement of the spider rider castle. "What am I doing here?!" Hunter asked himself.

"You're here to tell us where Hunter is!" Igneous said. He had been standing there for awhile. Hunter leapt out of the bed he had been sleeping in. He pressed himself into a corner of the cell. "Where is Hunter?" Igneous emphasized every word.

"Huh?" Hunter accidentally let the words slip out. "I'm Hunter."

"Who are you trying to fool, imposture?!" Igneous demanded.

"What do you mean "imposture"?!" Hunter asked confused.

"I know you're not the real spider rider, Hunter Steel. I can tell by the black marks…!" Igneous stopped. He didn't see any marks that were on Hunter before. Hunter said nothing.

Igneous turned. "You will tell us where Hunter is. Even if we have to use force." Igneous disappeared into the shadows of the corridor. _I wonder what he meant by that._ Hunter thought.

"He didn't answer my questions. He kept insisting that he was Hunter." Igneous reported to Prince Lumen.

"Well it seems that we must take another approach to the situation." Prince Lumen said thinking hard. "If we get the imposture to trust us, he might tell us where Hunter is."

"That's absurd!" Igneous exclaimed. "We can't make friends with the enemy. They're double-crossers!"

"I know that Igneous, but it may be our only choice. Either he trusts and talks, or we use force and have, what could be, a very bad outcome." Prince Lumen said. Igneous was about to say something, but stopped himself.

"Corona." Prince Lumen called. Corona came in and saluted. "Corona, I'm putting the invectid in your care. Report to me on your progress." Corona nodded.

Hunter's stomach growled. "I'm hungry. Where's the food around here." Hunter was sitting on the floor. He was about to get up when Corona appeared. "What do you want?" Hunter demanded, then he spied the tray of food that Corona had.

"I brought some food." Corona said setting the tray down. Hunter didn't move. "What's your name?" Corona asked.

"Like I told that other guy, it's Hunter." Hunter said.

Corona smiled. "I like that name." Hunter, confused, didn't say anything.

"My name's Corona." Corona said. Hunter stared at Corona until she got up to leave. "Sorry, I have to go." Corona said, leaving.

"Wait!" Hunter called standing up. Corona turned. "Will I see you again?" Hunter asked.

Corona smiled and said, "Yes." Hunter sat down again when Corona left. He picked up some food and began to eat.

"This is better than invectid food." Hunter realized as he dug in.

"Do you have anything to report Corona?" Prince Lumen asked. It had been a couple days since they had captured Hunter.

"No, everything is the same as yesterday." Corona reported.

"Hmm," Prince Lumen paused, thinking. "We've already taken too much time. I'm putting the invectid under someone else. We need to know where Hunter is." Corona nodded sadly.

_Being around him almost felt like Hunter was really back._ Corona thought as she walked away.

"Igneous, I'm putting the invectid under your care." Prince Lumen said. "I want you to find out where Hunter is by any means necessary."

"Yes Sir!" Igneous said. Igneous made his way to the dungeon cell Hunter was in.

"Hey Corona!" Hunter said when he heard footsteps coming.

"Who are you talking to?" Igneous snapped as he came to Hunter's cell.

"Who are you?" Hunter asked, raising his guard.

"I'm Igneous, a protector of aracna-kingdom. Where is Hunter?!" Igneous demanded.

"I'm right here." Hunter said.

"Stop pretending, invectid. I want to know where the real Hunter is." Igneous stepped forward and drew his sword. Hunter backed away into the corner.

"What are you gonna do?" Hunter asked, his voice breaking.

"Like I said before, you will tell us where Hunter is, even if I have to use force."

"Hunter?" Corona called down the corridor. It was the middle of the night and she had come to visit Hunter. She came to Hunter's cell. "Hunter? Are you there?" Corona peered into the cell. A rock came hurtling toward her and she barely dodged it.

"What do you want? To torture me as well?" Hunter's voice was pain filled.

"What do you mean?" Corona asked.

"What do you think I mean!" Hunter shouted. He came out from the shadows. His arms were scraped with deep scratches; his left arm had a big gash on it. His clothes were ripped as well.

"Who did this to you?" Corona asked sincerely.

"Igneous is what he called himself." Hunter said stepping back once more into the shadows.

"What was he doing down here?" Corona asked.

"The same you used to come down for." Hunter said. Corona stopped.

After a while, she asked, "Do you want me to get some bandages?"

"Okay." Hunter said after a long pause. "Could you also get me some food? Igneous didn't give me any."

"Sure. Be right back." Corona said and left. The same thing happened every night for a couple weeks.


	9. Chapter 9

_I wonder how much Igneous hurt Hunter today. _Corona wondered as she brought a tray of food for the nightly visit. As she rounded the corner of the corridor, she heard a scratching noise. She stopped. The noise stopped, then started again. Corona walked up slowly to Hunter's cell. The noise seemed to be coming from there.

"Hunter?" Corona looked into the cell. She dropped the tray instantly. Hunter snapped his head to look at Corona with unseeing eyes, his hand still scratching at the cell wall. Corona was perfectly silent. Hunter turned his head back to the wall, scratching a letter into it. Corona backed away and ran up the stairs. She ran to Igneous's room and knocked vigorously on the door.

"What is it Corona?" Igneous asked, a little angry that someone woke him up.

"It's the invectid!" Corona exclaimed. "He's up to something!"

At that, Igneous dressed and raced to Prince Lumen's room. He banged on the door. Prince Lumen stepped out and gave a big yawn.

"What is it that you had to wake me up from such a lovely dream? The girls were just starting to party." Prince Lumen said.

"Sir, I think you'll find this more important than dream women." Igneous said growing impatient.

"What!! There's nothing more important the girls! I can't even believe you said that." Prince Lumen said surprised. "Nevertheless, I shall see what is so important to you. Hmph! Better than girls." Prince Lumen grumbled as they ran down the stairs to the dungeon and Hunter's cell.

"Shhh!" Corona whispered. She crept around the corner and walked with soft footsteps to Hunter's cell.

"Hunter?" Corona called, barely whispering. There was no answer. The trio came to the cell; two of the three were silent with surprise. Hunter was backed up against the bars that made up his cell doors. He stared at the wall in front of him. The wall had bright teal letters of some sort of old language scratched into it with stone from broken bits of the wall.

"Wha-What is this?" Hunter asked in a shaky voice.

"We were hoping you could tell us." Corona said.

Hunter spun around as if he didn't know they were there. "What do you mean me? The only thing I remember is going to sleep, then seeing that stuff on the wall. That's it! Now tell me what happened!" Hunter demanded.

Corona glanced at Igneous and Prince Lumen. Igneous nodded his head, but Prince Lumen just stared at the inscriptions. Corona faced Hunter again and took a deep breath.

"You made those marks. I came down here just a few minutes ago and you were scratching it like you were possessed. I accidentally dropped something, but you barely responded. I ran to get prince Lumen and Igneous, but when we got here, you had stopped. You were the only one we could turn to for this." Corona explained.

Hunter was speechless. Then his face grew suspicious. "That's a lie. That's a lie! You're all a bunch of liars!"

Corona took a step back, startled by his sudden outburst. "We wouldn't lie about this." She said quietly.

Hunter turned away from her, "Sure you wouldn't."

"Sir, I think we should move the invectid to a different cell so that we can take a better look at the markings on the wall." Igneous said. He looked at Prince Lumen. Lumen didn't respond. "Sir? Don't you agree?"

Prince Lumen snapped out of his thoughts. "Uh, oh! Yes, move him down three cells."

"Sir, you realize that that puts him right in front of an exit tunnel, right?" Igneous whispered.

"Igneous, I know what the best is for us to do right now. Also, you and Corona, meet me in my room. We have a few matters to discuss." Prince Lumen mumbled as he ascended the stairs.

After Hunter was brought to another cell, Igneous and Corona found themselves in Prince Lumen's meeting room.

"What were you thinking, sir?!" Igneous exclaimed as he burst through the door. "If that invectid gets out of that cell, he could be long gone before we know it!"

"Not necessarily, Igneous. That exit leads to a sacred labyrinth that only spider riders and the oracle herself can get through." Prince Lumen said in a distant voice. "However, that's not why I called you here. You know the markings on the wall that the invectid scratched? Well, if my study of ancient languages is correct, the writings are a severe warning and give me great concern."

"What do the writings mean?" Corona asked.

"My translations aren't that good but it goes something like 'in seven days, past today, a great tragedy will befall this castle.' I don't think I translated the next part right, because it comes close to the word 'host' meaning the invectid that wrote the ancient language, ' this host will die without the orb of light, scores of your enemies will rain upon this stone house, and the oracle herself will weep.'" Prince Lumen sank into deep silence.

"What could this mean?" Corona asked.

"Well 'this host will die' is pretty easy to understand." Igneous said. "That part means that the invectid will die. The fool wrote about his own death. What will he do? Kill himself?"

"Not necessarily," Prince Lumen said, "that language is one of truth. Whatever is written in it, will usually come true."

"What do you mean usually?" Corona asked.

"If someone believed in his own lies enough, he would see it as truth." Prince Lumen said, "Kind of like someone said gravity forced you up."


	10. Chapter 10

"But that's impossible! Everyone knows gravity holds you down." Igneous interrupted.

"If you would let me finish…" Prince Lumen gave him a hard stare. "He would not be able to write it in the language of truth. However, if another person said that gravity pulls you down and slightly to the side, he might be able to write it in the language of truth."

"So you're saying that the invectid could be telling half of the truth?" Corona said in question form.

"Exactly." Prince Lumen realized.

"So which parts are true?" Igneous put his hand to his chin.

"Well, the invectids are our enemies and they could attack the castle to rescue the invectid in the dungeon. However, invectids don't usually act that way." Corona said.

"You forget that this invectid has special powers equal to, if not greater than, Acunea's. He would be a terrible loss of power to their side." Igneous strategized.

"True, but wouldn't they just think that as soon as we had the invectid, that we would have executed him?" Corona asked.

"Maybe, but why would we take him with us in the first place then?" Igneous challenged.

"WE-!" Corona began.

"I think that you are both missing a crucial point here!" Prince Lumen interrupted. They both looked at him. "Why would the prisoner write of his death in the language of truth?"

"Maybe to try to persuade us to hand over the manacle key? Maybe he knows that he's the only link we have to finding Hunter." Igneous suggested. "Personally, I'd say let him die."

"I've thought about that, but there are some things that don't connect with what you've just said." Prince Lumen pointed out, "Remember when we were in the throne room and the prisoner stepped from behind Mantid's throne? I could tell that something was different about him from the last time, besides the black marks being gone."

"Couldn't the invectids just made another clone without the marks?" Igneous pressed.

"No, I sensed that it was the same one from before, but do you remember how he talked? It sounded like a little child asking their father a question."

"So?"

"It gave me the impression that he did not fully understand the situation. He had to confirm that we were the enemies before he attacked. Also, as soon as Acunea's power was taken out of his attack, Corona said something didn't you?"

"Well, when it was just the invectid, it didn't feel like an attack anymore. I kind of felt like I was on a bed of clouds, like I was shielded, safe." Corona thought back to the previous battle.

"Exactly, I don't think that the prisoner's power can harm anyone. I think Acunea was the one behind that." Prince Lumen said.

"That's fine and all, but what has that got to do with our situation?" Igneous asked.

"Right, when Acunea smashed into the pots and thus revealed the manacle key, did either of you look to see what the prisoner did?"

"Well, I know that he released us, but when I looked, he was passed out on the ground." Corona said.

"As soon as the manacle key came out of the pot, the prisoner looked like he had been struck with a whip. He became unconscious after that. I think that he can't be in close proximity to it." Prince Lumen concluded.

"What's this got to do with anything?" Igneous was growing tired of it.

"Why would he ask for he orb of light, the manacle key, when he can't anywhere near it?" Prince Lumen challenged.

Neither Igneous, nor Corona had an answer.

"Or better yet, why would he refer to himself as 'this host' instead of 'I'."

Again silence.

"Corona, you said that you made a noise, but the prisoner barely responded. What did you mean?" Prince Lumen asked.

"Well, he looked in my direction, with his hand still scraping the wall without missing a mark. Then, when I was silent, he turned back."

"What was his face like when he turned?"

"His eyes were wide-open, but expressionless. It was like he was still asleep."

Prince Lumen grew quiet again, deep in thought.

"Sir, what does this mean?" Igneous asked, apprehensively.

"I think," Prince Lumen whispered after a moment of thought, "that this mean that the prisoner did not make those markings, but someone else that was controlling him."


	11. Chapter 11

Corona, Igneous, and Prince Lumen, along with a few guards, carefully made their way down the stairs to the dungeon. The guards held the manacle key between themselves, making sure that it would not get lost.

"Sir, can you remind me again why we brought the manacle key with us?" Igneous said for the umpteenth time.

"There is something that I want to confirm." Prince Lumen replied.

"But do we really have to bring the manacle key with us?"

"Yes."

They came to the bottom of the steps.

"Maybe I should go first." Corona suggested. "He trusts me more than Igneous at least."

"How do you know?" Igneous replied indignantly.

"I know because I visited him for the past few nights and because I don't hurt him like you do." Corona pointed out.

Prince Lumen motioned for her to go first. Corona nodded and walked to Hunter's new cell. Hunter heard her coming and peered out from in-between the bars of the cell.

"How are you tonight, Hunter?" Corona asked.

"I'm fine, other than a small headache. Did you bring any food with you? I'm starving!" Hunter gave a small smile.

Corona gave a sad look at Hunter as she thought of what they were planning. Hunter noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked

"Oh, um… nothing." Corona forced herself to smile. "Hunter, do you think we could try something?"

"WE? Who's 'we'?" Hunter asked as Prince Lumen, Igneous and the guards walked down the corridor. As they got closer, his headache grew worse. His hands went to his head and he sank to his knees. _ Igneous found a worse way to torture me! _Hunter thought,_ how's that even possible?! And Corona's in on it. I should never have trusted her!_

Prince Lumen noticed how Hunter reacted to being so close to the manacle key. This confirmed what he believed. His prisoner couldn't stand the manacle key. Then something else caught his eye. Black marks, the same ones from the first time, flashed in and out of existence all over Hunter's body.

Igneous recognized them as well.

"You-!" Igneous rushed forward and flung open Hunter's cell door with the twist of a key. He grabbed Hunter by his shirt collar and pulled him to his feet. He made him look him straight in the eyes. "Where is Hunter Steel?" he emphasized each word, carefully controlling his anger.

Hunter, his hands still clamped to his head, could barely get the words out, "I…am…Hunter…Steel!"

Igneous threw him down. Hunter landed with a hard thud, but didn't bother to get up. In truth, Hunter couldn't get up, he couldn't even think. His head felt like it would burst open. He looked to see what the cause of this massive headache was. It was then that he saw a strange orange glow. He remembered seeing it only two other times.

One was in Mantid's throne room after Acunea had broken some pots to his right. The other time, he'd been following Mantid to one of his meetings. The same orange glow had come from underneath a door. Both times he'd seen it right before he passed out.

Hunter's conclusion was to get as far away from it as he possibly could, and fast. None of the others expected Hunter to get shakily to his feet and certainly not bolt out of the cell. The guards grouped around the manacle key, ready to protect it, but Hunter ran right by it, giving it a wide berth.

"Igneous! Corona!" Prince Lumen shouted.

"All ready on it sir!" Corona said.

"Aracna Power!" they shouted in unison. They transformed into true spider riders and were off, hot on Hunter's trail.

"Take Shadow with you!" Prince Lumen threw Hunter's old manacle to Corona. Corona nodded as Venus raced behind Flame and Igneous.

"Shadow out!" Corona called.

Shadow, Hunter's spider, appeared behind her.

"What's going on Corona?!" Shadow asked as he caught up to her and Venus. "Hunter didn't call me out for weeks, then you call me here while chasing down an intruder? What's going on?"

"Hunter got kidnapped by the invectids. The one we're chasing isn't an intruder; he's a prisoner that escaped just a few moments ago. Prince Lumen wanted you here for some reason. Maybe you're faster than we are, but just do your best to catch the escapee."

"Got it!" Shadow said as he raced ahead of Venus.

Hunter, while Corona and Shadow were talking, was running for his life. The corridors split often, but when he tried to turn one way or the other, a spider web appeared blocking his way. Suddenly the web would burst into flames, causing Hunter to keep running, running straight into a dead end.

Hunter slid to a stop as he entered the room. He turned to go back, but suddenly blocking the way was Igneous and his spider. Hunter backed himself to the wall, facing his end as Corona, with her spider, and Shadow crept into view.

"Your escape ends here!" Shadow yelled as he flung himself at the figure that stood against the far wall. His front four legs trapped Hunter, two on either side of him. Hunter gasped in pain as on of Shadow's legs accidentally landed on his right shoulder, spilling a few drops of blood.

"Hunter?!" Shadow exclaimed in surprise. "What're you?"


	12. Chapter 12

Before he could say anymore, the wall that both of them were pressed against fell away, seeming to vanish into thin air. Hunter stumbled slightly before he regained his footing and was off again down the corridors of the magical maze. Shadow stood stunned.

"Come on, Shadow! Get a hold of yourself!" Igneous shouted as his spider tried to push past Shadow.

"Wait a minute! What's going on here? Why are we chasing Hunter down?!" Shadow demanded.

"Hunter was taken captive by invectids and this look a like was sent here in his place. We attacked the invectid palace, took this clone back with us and tried to find out where they hid Hunter. He ran off as soon as we opened the jail door of his cell while doing a small test. We have to get him back before he causes anymore trouble." Corona blurted out.

"So it's not really Hunter?" Shadow asked, letting Igneous and Flame race past him. Corona shook her head all while thinking; _at least we don't think so._

"Then I'm on it!" Shadow surged forward with renewed determination. Venus followed with Corona steadily standing ground on her back.

"We've lost him!" Igneous said as the trio came up to him. The corridor split off in two different directions. Corona looked as far down one way as she could, then looked down the other. Shadow started toward the right.

"Where are you going?" Igneous demanded.

"I'm taking the way Hunter normally would." He answered.

"Didn't Corona already say that this is an invectid, not Hunter?!" Igneous steamed.

"Even so, if he was made to be Hunter's perfect clone, he would make the same choices, wouldn't he?" Shadow pointed out.

"Maybe, but I still-"

"Igneous, I think Shadow's right. Look, there on the floor and on the right hand wall. There's blood from when Shadow accidentally cut him. It pretty much leaves a solid trail for us to follow." Corona pointed to a small dark red pool of liquid on the ground. Drops continued down the corridor to the right.

After only a second of thought, Igneous nodded and took the lead. "Alright, Spider Riders, move out!"

Hunter was surprised when the wall had disappeared behind him, but he didn't think twice about the convenient new escape route. He dashed down the corridor at full tilt, not bothering to watch which direction he was going. He swayed suddenly. He leaned against the wall of the corridor he'd just turned on to.

Hunter grasped his right shoulder as he found that it suddenly stung and throbbed a little under his hand. He lifted his hand away to look at it and felt nauseated at the sight of it completely covered in blood. _I wonder how much blood I've already lost._ The thought only stayed a minute because he heard the sound of someone that was chasing after him.

He was off again, knowing that it wouldn't take them long to catch up. The corridor was pretty straight now without any turns. Hunter didn't know if he should count this as a curse or blessing. His legs were shaking now; he couldn't keep this up much longer. He came to the end of the corridor with the spider riders not far behind. As soon as he entered the room, he skidded to a halt.

It was another dead end.

"You've reached the end off the road, invectid!" Igneous called out. His spider ran into the room to the left and corona took the right with Shadow. They had once again cornered Hunter yet they stayed where they were in case the wall disappeared again- which was exactly what Hunter was hoping for.

"Corona, Venus, Shadow! Use your webs to tie the invectid up. Then we'll take him back up to the prison." Igneous said, barely taking his eyes off Hunter. Corona nodded while Shadow and Venus shot webs from their mouths. Hunter flinched back against the wall, eyes wide open in shock and fear. The sticky substances were flying towards him right when Hunter started glowing. An invisible wind knocked the webs off their course and threw up dust that got in the spider riders eyes.

"Show the invectid is finally showing his true face, eh?" Igneous yelled against the wind. Though the webs had been knocked off course, they were still flying through the air. A sudden slash cut them to shreds.

"What was that?" Corona coughed and waved dust away from her. The dust cleared in a sudden burst. Hunter stood, his eyes pupilless, with two arabian swords in his hands. "Hunter?" Corona recognized the stance that Hunter often used when fighting as a spider rider.

"What are you saying Corona? It's the invectid!" Igneous exclaimed, letting his eyes leave Hunter only for a moment to look over his shoulder at Corona.

"Oh- r-right!" Corona snapped back to what was really happening. "prepare to surrender invectid!" Corona yelled, firing an arrow at Hunter. Hunter easily side-stepped it. He showed no expression at all, merely staring blankly at Corona and Igneous.

"Corona what are you doing?! You missed!" Igneous yelled at her.

"I'll try again!" Corona said. She fired another arrow, this one Hunter caught as it flew past him. He smiled a little as the arrow disintegrated in his hands. "What is he?" Corona gasped under her breath.

"Urg! I'll teach you to smile in the face of battle!" Igneous roared as he lurched forward with his sword. Hunter suddenly disappeared, reappearing right in front of Igneous who had his guard down. "Ah!" Igneous cried in surprise. Hunter, using the hilt of his sword, stabbed Igneous in the stomach. Igneous fell to the ground, the breath knocked out of him. Hunter jumped back to his first position.

"Igneous!" Corona yelled, running to his side. After a second, Igneous coughed and regained his breath. "Are you okay?" Corona asked. Before he could answer, Hunter spoke, but it wasn't Hunter's voice. It sounded royal like- almost like prince Lumen's.

"of course he's okay. I only used the hilt of my sword. Any _man_ can take a hit like that. I merely spared him because he spared this vessel earlier. If this was a real fight though, I would've easily beaten both of you. Even with this injury." Hunter winced as he displayed the wound on his shoulder.

Corona blinked with a confused face. "Vessel? Are you not an invectid?"

"No, I'm not." Hunter said.

"then…who are you?" Corona's voice rose at the last word.

Hunter smiled. "I am the son of the oracle herself. I am Orc."

"Impossible." Corona's voice was barely a whisper.

"Why would I lie? What is there to gain?" Hunter asked.

"Maybe your freedom or life!" Igneous spat, seeming to have recovered. "Trying to persuade us that you aren't an invectid. Corona don't listen to him." Igneous tried to stand, but was unable to. There was a pressure that seemed to eminate from Hunter that trapped Corona and Igneous and the spiders on the ground.


End file.
